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Viewpoints Our views To be the best Whew, boy! Robins Air Force Base is the best Air Force Base in the world. But we knew that all the time didn’t we. After all, from our midst come the civilian and military workers who make Robins Air Force Base great. But now it’s official. A team of experts has selected Robins from four finalists for the honor. The selection is based on several criteria which Robins leaders had to meet. Since Robins came off the Base Realignment and Closure Commission study list two years ago, Maj. Gen. William P. Hallin and his top leaders have talked constantly about the “Team Robins” concept and making Robins the most valuable Air Logistics Center installation in the country. Since then, the C-141 project has been completed ahead of time and under budget. Other projects have proceeded with high quality marks. Workers, both military and civilian, have been constantly challenged to do their best possible work as economically as possible. The proof is in the puddin’, and the recipe Which Hallin and others followed has resulted in this honor and award. To be the best means hard work and preparing to deal with problems on the job. That’s what Robins workers have done. They have earned this honor as the best there is. Maj. Gen. Hallin, lead your Team Robins in a bow. You’ve earned it, all of you. Thank you for working hard to preserve jobs and the economic engine which drives middle Georgia. You’ve done well. Abide by the law Officials at the Peachstate Cable TV operation have announced plans to prosecute those are are stealing cable TV services. We can’t blame them. After all, they are selling a product greater availability of clear reception television channels which costs them money to provide. When people steal these services, they cause the company to lose money and eventually charge paying customers more. Theft be it the tapping into a cable TV line to steal service or taking a loaf of bread or bar of candy from the grocery store costs American businesses unbelievable amounts of money each year. Consumers suffer by paying higher costs. Honesty pays. Recalling the war Editor: As a lifetime resident of Houston County, I always enjoy reading your column, “50 years ago.” In 1992 our Perry High School Class celebrated our 50th year with our reunion. Skeet Chapman browsed through your files and compiled a list of items concerning our class of 1942. I had the honor of reading these as part of the program. Needless to say, we got quite a chuckle from them. Items like “ask the shcrt Elko blond what she thinks about the tire shortage on 1941 black Plymouths,” or “ask three senior girls what is the latest in Americus.” My purpose in writing this letter though is to say I was surprised to see in the Feb. 15 issue that I was reported missing in action in France. I would also like to mention J.D. Siembridge, who was listed as having been awarded the Silver Star posthumously for gallantry in action. J.D.’s family and my family were iifetime friends and residents of Houston County. His mother, Miss Cora, as I always called her, and my mother were the best of friends their entire lifetime. J.D. and I happened to be home on leave at the same time in 1944 prior to going overseas. At that time, you traveled by train or bus. When it came time for us to depart, we left on the same train. He was going to California. I was going to Kansas. We rode together as far as Evansville, Ind., and then went our separate ways. He was killed in action and I became a prisoner of war. I was fortunate to return home. I still vividly remember the difficulty I had when I returned home and went to see Miss Cora and her family for the first time. Why had her son been killed and I was the lucky one to come home? Only God knows the answer. Frank Ryals Warner Robins Houston limes-Journal P.O. Drawer M • 807 Carroll St. • Perry, Ga. 31069 (912) 987-1823 • (912) 988-1181 (fax) Bob Tribble President Jj Johnson Editor and General Manager Sherri Wengler Advertising Manager News: Larry Hitchcock, Pauline Lewis; Sports: Phil Clark; Composition: Lynn Wright, Sue Sapp; Classified Advertising: Melanie Bullington; Circulation and Photography: Eric Zellars; Bookkeeping: Judy Morrow. 4A Steps taken to unify county and cities Last week, elected officials in this county did what they are supposed to do they sat down at a table and worked out their disagreements like adults. They determined a reasonable formula for funding the Houston County Library System. Several weeks ago, some members of Warner Robins City Council wanted to reduce funding by the city for the library system by 20 percent per year over a five-year period. Their argument, somewhat reasonable, was that residents of Warner Robins were paying taxes twice for the library system. Taken at face value, their argument was valid in that the city of Warner Robins has for several year been providing 49 percent of the local funding share for the library. Houston County TH£H.ANIT GALLERY "77“ lA IANIMM !J [ HEAR MILLIONS PLAYING |/0 /|® l NATIONAL INDIAN LOTTERY. / / f S I MUCH WmPVftjJ j I 'W ' >§k\ \ upt»£\ V 4 \ a -ipM/ ] I •;.:• t. iff; ! ***:*/•.«;V. *L*• V;-T *•'r• V.'.JlVi.:'- Spotlight on city administrative unit This column is dedicated to the employees of the City’s Administrative Department those folks in the boiler room shoveling the coal which fuels the other city departments. Admittedly, office jobs are not the most glamorous the city offers, but the diversity of our work and constant contact with the public make our days anything but mundane. There is a sense of satisfaction in being part of the overall city team and in knowing our efforts are an integral part of service to Perry’s citizens. As employees of the “paper work” division, it is rewarding to be at the heart of the city’s activities. We are privileged to welcome new citizens and businesses to Perry, to furnish information to the public and employees, provide financial structure, personnel services and many other support services. We can summarize the functions of the Administrative Department by dividing it into six basic categories. The Accounting Office is headed by Brenda King, who is assisted by Debbie Smith. They are responsible for all financial activities of the city, including but certainly not limited to, general ledger, accounts payable and receivable, investments, internal controls and debt administration. Governmental accounting is complex, but Brenda and Debbie are up to the challenge. Taxes and licenses are the responsibility of Peggy Wilson and her assistant, Carol Fudge. No one likes to pay taxes, but at least Perry has two of the nicest “tax collectors” anywhere. In addition to these duties, Carol and Peggy are responsible for the city’s main switchboard, one of the most under-rated tasks at City Hall. The person who answers the Our Policies Unsigned editorials appearing in larger type on this page under the label of Our Views reflect the position of the Houston Times-Joumal. Signed columns and letters on this page (and elsewhere in this newspaper) reflect the opinions of the writers and not necessarily those of this newspaper. Signed letters to the editor are welcomed. Please limit letters to 300 words and include addresses and a telephone number for verification purposes. No letters will be published without verification. Letters should be sent to P.O. Drawer M, Perry, Ga., 31069, or brought to the newspaper office at 807 Carroll St., Perry. Our liability for an error will not exceed the cost of space occupied by the error. We cannot be responsible for the return of pictures or materials unless a stamped, return address envelope is included. Our Goal The Houston Times-Joumal is published proudly for the citizens of Houston - Wednesday, March 22,1995 Jj ‘ OKI Johnson HHH Editor provided about 35 percent while Perry and Centerville split the reminder. These council members argued (correctly) that all who live within the boundaries of Houston County, whether they live inside one of the three incorporated municipalities or not, live in Houston County and if they own property, they also pay taxes to Houston County. These city residents were paying for library support to both city and county governments. That argument is well taken. The Janice Williams tSt Finance Director, City of Perry switchboard is likely to catch an earful of a citizen’s rage when the garbage wasn’t picked up on time or when a sewer line backs up. Peggy and Carol also assist with city elections. The Utilities Office is staffed by Geraldine Graham, Bill Gore and Susie Lumpkin. Monthly, these three listen to every excuse in the book for non payment or late payment of utility bills. If Geraldine, Bill and Susie seem relentless in their attempts to collect over-due bills, remember that Perry’s utility fees are lower than neighboring cities because we are able to keep our costs down. As it is, we lose more than $12,000 a year in uncollectible utility accounts. In addition to this office staff, Bill Gore supervises three water and gas meter readers. Tracey Floyd, Russ Allen and Doug King are faithful to their task, come rain, shine or bad dogs. Our Personnel Office is ably staffed by Karen Bycenski. Karen maintains our personnel files, pays us, manages our health insurance and keeps up out of trouble by assuring compliance with personnel policies and state and federal labor laws. The city has a centralized purchasing office, managed by Jim Moody, who works with department heads to develop bid specifications and secure Houston runes-Journal negotiators from the cities of Perry, Centerville and Warner Robins met with county officials to reach a reasonable agreement. The new formula provides for the county to pay a much greater share of the budget since all 93,000 or so of us live in the county. The agreement makes sense for library funding and may well be applicable to other multi-government items as well. Negotiators deserve praise for approaching the sensitive subject and working out, in slightly mor than two hours of talks, a satisfactory solution to the problem. I have particular praise for County Commissioner Larry Snellgrove, who has been one of the hardest workers in the effort to get the county government and the three city governments in this the best quality merchandise at the best prices. Moody is busy this time of year helping us price our wish list for the fiscal year 1996 budget. Liz Stinson had worked with Jim in purchasing as well as in most other administrative offices until last week when she left us to take another job. We’ll miss Liz. Government buildings maintenance is supervised by Bill Gore and carried out by Marvin Lester. Easily the most often paged employee, Marvin good naturedly obliges us with everything from watering plants to moving furniture. Grants administration, elections, risk management, records management budgeting and keeping Council minutes are several of tpe other major functions carried on by the Administrative Department. No discussion of this department would be complete without including our Laura. Although not actually showing in the Administrative Department on the organizational chart, Laura Smith is not only secretary to the city mayor but City Hall’s cheerleader, hostess, and the one person who can always make us laugh on those really trying days. I have tremendous respect for the work ethics, professionalism and dedication of all the Administrative employees and am pleased to have this opportunity to briefly turn the spotlight on them. (Janice Williams is the finance director for the city of Perry. This is the third in a series of columns prepared for publication by city department heads. To ask a question of the department head, contact the Times-Journal at P.O. Drawer M, Perry, 31069, or call 987-1823.) and adjoining counties by Houston Publications Inc., Perry, Ga. Our goal is to produce quality, profitable, community-oriented newspapers that you, our readers, are proud of. We will reach this goal through hard work, teamwork, loyalty and a strong dedication toward printing the truth. Member of Georgia Press Association and National Newspaper Association. "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press, or of the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances." Your right to read this newspaper is protected by the First Amendment to the United States Constitution. The Houston Times-Journal (USPS 000471) is published weekly for $18.90 per year by Houston Publications Inc., 807 Carroll Street, Perry, Ga., 31069. Second Class Postage paid at Perry, Ga. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to the Houston Times-Journal, P.O. Drawer M, Perry, Ga. 31069. ISSN: 1075-1874. county to the bargaining table to work out their differences. Snellgrove has also been diligent in his efforts to combine, wherever possible, any rules and regulations or other services which could reduce the cost of government. When I spoke to him after the meeting, I reminded him of one of the areas he has worked hard to get some changes made which have yet to take place. That area is the development of building codes which apply to all areas of the community. Today, there exists a hodgepodge of codes which vary from one government to another. A contractor has to be a legal wizard to keep up with what is right in Centerville or Perry as opposed to Warner Robins or in the unincorporated area. Is there hope in sight? Larry Hitchcock News Editor Looking at new ways to make budgets The Perry City Council did something last week that would help a lot of other government agencies when it comes to spending taxpayers’ dollars. The council went through the entire city employee-job chart and took a hard look at what jobs were open and did they really need to be filled at this time. Although the jobs were authorized, the city fathers were looking to see if they really wanted to spend the funds now. In this era of tight budgets, governmental agencies everywhere are having to look in every nook and cranny to see if they can squeeze out a few more dollars. The Houston County Commission has already cut health care spending and hasn’t given the sheriff’s department all the money it wants. Some private businesses have used a budgeting technique called “zero based” budgets as one method of finding places to trim spending. Instead of using figures from the previous year’s budget as a starting point and adding to or subtracting from those numbers, the businesses require their department heads to start at zero (no funds) and figure what they need to operate for the next year. Some companies even require justification for each planned expenditure. In private business, any revenue not spent on budgeted items is called profit. In the public sector, part of the funds could go into a contingency account to take care of unexpected emergencies and the rest could be deposited in a special account to reduce debt at the end of the budget year. With the proper controls on spending of the contingency fund, that amount could grow from year-to-year. Should some major disaster require spending more than is available, action could be taken to dip into the “profit” fund being held to reduce debt, but only under extremely strict guidelines. Giving governmental departments 5 or 7 percent raises is almost automatic when it comes to talking about the next year’s budget. That’s 5 or 7 percent more than was given this year. Private businesses try to give raises, but if the money isn’t there, neither are the raises.* Companies can’t go out and “raise taxes” to cover salary increases. Prices can go up, but the public has a chance to decide if they want to pay the price. Unfortunately, the public doesn’t have the same option when it comes to paying for tax increases.